Zoey
Now that Luna had her deadline, the house seemed to explode in a flurry of activity. Between maids cleaning at a dizzying speed and extra workmen carting around stage equipment, there wasn't an empty or quiet room to be found. In the beginning, I asked for tasks to help out; but after a few hours, it became quite clear that there was a pre-established system in place to pull off an event of this magnitude in 5 days. The guest list only consisted of those who could arrive in two days' travel time—and those who would have Formal wear ready at a moment's notice.
Even Chef was working in a flurry, so I opted not to beg a stool in the corner. He happily took a break just long enough to make me a coffee before launching back into the fray. I took my little cup and slipped out to avoid being run over.
Van and the guys were in their own spectrum of planning chaos. They weren't running around like madmen, but they had very in-depth meetings to talk through every single step of the process. Part of it was keeping Snuff calm and making sure Bug didn't accidentally activate the homing beacons early. He was so paranoid about them working that he would check the signal every three hours. All it would take was one wrong keystroke and everything would get thrown off.
The only safe place seemed to be Van's room, so I took my coffee to the safe haven of the balcony. I would have gone to my attic hideaway if I'd needed a complete escape, but I wanted to be semi-close to the team if the needed to find me. Curling up on one of the chairs, I sucked in a deep breath of fresh air and let it filter through my veins like a cleanse. When all of this was finally over and I was settled somewhere, I would pick a special place to call mine. Only those I wanted would know about it, and it would be my safe zone. Until then, I'd take what I could find.
The activity of the pack hummed in the air. Now that my wolf was gaining strength, her mind link connection was getting stronger too. I could hear whispers and snippets from anyone who wasn't protecting their channel. It wasn't overwhelming yet, but I was already practicing what it took to block others out. I would not allow myself to be victimized by an open mind link.
Zoey?
I jumped, still not used to having someone abruptly speak into my mind. Thankfully only one person actively did that.
Van?
Did I scare you?
Could you tell? I winced.
I could pretty much feel you jump, he chuckled. But it's okay! It means the connection is firmly open.
Oh... What's up?
Where are you? All the activity in the house, I'm nervous about losing track of you.
I couldn't help but smile. The original Van I'd met wouldn't have cared so but, but we'd come a long way from that guy. And the fact that he wanted to know exactly where I was made my heart skip a beat.
I'm in your room out on the balcony, I offered. It seemed like a good place to chill out of everyone's way yet still close by.
He didn't respond, and I cocked my head. Had I lost the connection of somehow blocked him?
Van? You there?
"Stop panicking. I'm right here."
I swallowed the squeak and turned as Van appeared from the bedroom. He looked a bit calmer and more collected than the last time I'd seen him. With his hands tucked into his pockets, he gave the outward appearance of someone completely at ease.
"How'd you get here so fast?" I gasped.
He scooped me out of my chair and sat down in my place with me cradled on his lap. Once I'd settled, he locked his arms around me and cocked an eyebrow.
"Have you forgotten how fast lycans can be?" he drawled.
"I... may have forgotten that detail amid everything else going on," I admitted. It was true. I wasn't used to seeing werewolves or lycans using their speed, so I often forgot they could move fast in human form too.
He sighed and tugged me closer, tucking my head against his shoulder. "I guess I can forgive you for the slight oversight."
I pouted, even though he wouldn't see it. "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Just remember to be in awe of my speed in the future," he teased, pinching my nose.
In the future... It rang in my ears like a foreign concept. I knew why it stuck a weird chord in my chest too.
I slowly sat up straight and turned to face him. "Van..."
He leaned forward until his forehead rested against mine. For a long minute or two, we sat in silence. I closed my eyes and focused on the sound of our heartbeats. Now that I knew how to tune in to such intimate sounds, I found it quite comforting to hear the strong beats of another heart. It's how I went to sleep last night.
"Let's not think about it just yet," Van finally whispered. "I still have a few days with you, and I don't want to spend that precious time worrying about things we can't control."
He tightened his hold around me and drew a slow deep breath.
"Please don't make me lose you before I've had a chance to be with you."
I squeezed my eyes shut a bit harder. My heart did a strange thump. How could I be so attached to him when I still had a mate? Could the Moon Goddess be giving me a break after so many years? It seemed too good to be true, but why else would I be able to connect with Van so much?
Van pulled back and pinched the tip of my nose. When I opened my eyes and met his gaze, he offered a small smile.
"We've been through a lot together, right?"
I nodded, not quite trusting my voice.
"You've trusted me this far. Trust me through to the end of this."
I nodded again. "I trust you. I trust you."
He chuckled and tucked my head against his shoulder again. "I believe you. You don't have to say it twice."
"One was for you. One was for me," I explained.
"Well don't overexert yourself."
My wolf happily hummed as we sat there in silence, Van absently combing his fingers through my hair. I would have stayed there forever if I could.
"Hey, guys."
I flinched as Stitch's voice broke through the serenity of the moment. Van held me firm in place as I tried to squirm out of his arms. He didn't seem to mind having Stitch find us in that position.
"Stitch... What's up?"
Stitch emerged from the room and paused for a moment before sinking into the other chair. I shrank against Van to avoid Stitch's scrutiny.
"I'm pleased to see you two getting along so well," Stitch announced. "It'll serve you well during the Formal."
Van smiled and squeezed my shoulder. "It took us a while to get here, but we're here now."
"It certainly took you long enough," Stitch pointed out. "Zoey has been there for quite a while."
I gawked and buried my face into Van's shoulder. I didn't know what Stitch meant by 'there,' but he made it sound almost scandalous. It's true that I'd been inclined towards friendliness long before Van, but that's all there was to it.
Van let out a low hum and leaned his head against mine. "Did you come up here to comment on my relationship status, Stitch?"
"No..." Stitch leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "Preparations are well underway, both for the Formal and for our own plans. Bug and Snuff are ready to kick things off; they're just waiting for your go-ahead."
We all knew how fast things would move once Bug hit that button to activate the homing beacons. Everything would fly into fast-forward, so Van was holding off as long as possible to make sure every step of the process was solid. I didn't blame him for hesitating.
"I'll let them know, but we're still waiting until the day before the Formal," Van confirmed.
We sat there in silence for a minute, all processing what lay ahead of us. I'd barely registered the sound of footsteps coming closer before a fourth person appeared on the balcony and Stitch sprang to his feet.
"Alpha..."
I sat up straight and tried to squirm out of Van's arms again, but he held firm and remained seated. Whatever relationship he had with his alpha, he didn't feel the need to rise in the presence of his dad.
"Dad. I didn't expect to see you with all the goings on," Van chipped. "What happened?"
Alpha ran his fingers through his hair, a rare sign of uncertainty for him. "I know you have your own mission about to come to a close, and I hate to ask this of your team. There's an emergency at the border."
Van straightened to attention. "What kind of emergency? Isn't there a patrol team on duty for things like that?"
Alpha shook his head. "They're caught up in the emergency. Your team is best suited for this task."
Stitch took a step forward. "Midnight pack?"
My stomach knotted so tight that it hurt. I hugged my abdomen to counteract the pain, but it only mildly helped. We were so close! How could they know I was here when we hadn't activated the beacons yet?
"It's not Midnight," Alpha assured us. "It's Blood Creek."
I only knew Blood Creek by name, but Stitch and Van turned into stone-faced soldiers at the name. They must have had some history with that pack to make them react so fiercely.
"What happened?" Stitch growled.
Alpha glanced at me before answering. "Small skirmish turned into a brawl. Members from both packs are injured, including the disguised son of the alpha. Now their alpha wants to blame us for intentionally attacking his heir, so it's a volatile situation."
Stitch and Van exchanged glances for a moment, probably deciding what to do. I already knew what they'd do—and they did too—but that didn't make it an easy decision.
"We'll go and sort it out, Dad," Van finally agreed.
"I hate to send you away right now, especially with Zoey here," Alpha said, "but thank you."
After Alpha left, Stitch and Van stared at each other for a long minute. Midnight pack was certainly the nastiest of all, but from what I'd heard, Blood Creek was a close second. If their alpha wanted to declare war on the lycans, he'd find a way to do it.
"Stitch, round up the team," Van growled. "We're heading out in twenty minutes."
"Yes, Boss."
I watched Stitch leave with fast, determined steps. They were a well-oiled machine, each having a distinct role to play. They knew how to prepare to move out in record time. Whatever they were about to face, they would be ready for it.
Van tightened his hold with one arm and scooped the other under my knees to pick me up in a cradle hold. He didn't look at me as he carried me back into the bedroom and placed me on the bed, A few well-ingrained lines creased his forehead. His eyes weren't focused on anything particular, so I knew he'd switched into full mission mindset. His body was here, but his mind was miles away.
He flew around the room for several minutes, fetching various items from drawers and secret stashes. I bit my bottom lip as he pulled a small handgun out of a hole in the wall behind the mirror. Soon, he'd built a small stockpile of gadgets on the floor next to his pack. He yanked his light blue shirt off and replaced it with a black one. As he started to pack everything, my mind started spinning.
He's leaving me... the whole team is going, so none of them will be here with me. What if something happens while they're gone? No, don't go there. You can't let yourself think of dark things, not when this is all so close to being over. They're professionals. They'll be fine.
No matter how many times I repeated it to myself, it clearly didn't stick. My heart beat faster in my chest until I could hear it pounding in my ears. I hadn't considered the possibility of Van having to leave, even for a short time. Now that reality was staring me in the face, my confidence in the plan was wavering.
Something tickled my cheek. I swiped it away, only to stare at the water droplet glistening on my fingertip. A tear? Was I crying? I only cried when I was deeply afraid of something.
Van glanced up from his packing. When he saw me, he quickly finished and came to stand in front of me. Grabbing my hands, he pulled me to my feet and then into his chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist and held as tight as I could. He cupped the back of my head and held me close. A few seconds passed before he took a deep breath.
"I know you're scared," he whispered. "It'll be all right. We'll be back in 12 hours at most."
"What if you're not?" I mumbled into his shoulder.
"We will," he promised, "because I won't stay away from you any longer than that. I will be back at your side before you've had time to notice that I'm gone."
I would notice the moment he left my sight, but it was a nice thought. I knew that they needed to go, but I couldn't let go of him just yet.
"I'm scared, Van," I whispered, saying it out loud just as scary as knowing it in my head.
"I know. Stay next to my mom while I'm gone. She'll be in the middle of the fray with all the preparations, so no one will have the chance to approach you. She and all the activity will keep you safe. Promise me you'll stay with her until I come back."
I nodded, a wave of tears clogging my voice. As much as I wanted to be alone and wallow in my fear, keeping busy would be good for me. It would also make the time seem to go faster.
Van pulled back to rest his forehead against mine, just like we'd done earlier before Stitch appeared. "I don't want to leave, especially since we're so close to accomplishing our goal. But with the danger level rising..."
"I know," I sighed, closing my eyes. "You guys are the best equipped to handle this sort of thing. I don't want to let you go, but I can't stop you from doing your job."
His chuckle surprised me. Was I too cheesy? Had I said something wrong? I opened my eyes and tipped my head up to ask what was so funny, but the words never got out. He leaned down and sealed my lips with his before I took the breath to speak. It was one of those cinematic, hand-on-the-back-of-her-head, gentle kisses that most girls dreamed of, including me.
One second... two seconds... three seconds... He slowly pulled away and stared down at me. Aside from my wolf howling in joy and rolling all over the place, my body didn't quite seem to know how to react. And the words that came out of my mouth hurt like a knife to the chest.
"Was that a goodbye kiss?"
His eyes widened for half a second. "No, definitely not. I've been thinking about it for the past 24 hours, and you sounded like a supportive military girlfriend when you said you couldn't stop me from doing my job. So I followed through on my thoughts. Is that okay?"
Okay? My wolf screeched. It's fabulous! Do it again!
"Yeah, it's okay," I answered, much calmer than my wolf. "I'm not used to being kissed like that, so..."
Van bent forward until the tip of his nose brushed the ridge of mine. "Consider it the first of hopefully many more... in the future... when I get back."
I nodded, understanding the last comment as his urgency to leave.
"Come see us off, and then go find my mom. Okay?"
"Okay."
He held onto my hand and grabbed his pack with the other on our way out the door. We didn't run, but we walked faster than usual. We breezed through the busy staff members in the dining room and out onto the patio. The rest of the guys were already waiting with their packs over their shoulders. I'd been kind of hoping that at least one of them would arrive after us, but that was now gone.
Snuff snapped to attention. "Stitch gave us the brief. Blood Creek's heir? I still hate that guy for cheating me during that ambush mission."
"Well maybe there will be an opportunity for you to repay the favor," Van drawled, "but I think getting beaten up may have to be enough for him for now."
The guys lined up on the edge of the patio as Van turned to me one more time. I knew that this wasn't a goodbye, but it sure felt like one... and I hated it.
"Twelve hours," Van promised me. "I'll be back in twelve hours."
"I'll be counting the minutes," I pouted, knowing full well that I sounded like a lovestruck schoolgirl.
He held me in a crushing hug for a few seconds. I clung to him until I felt him letting go, and then I let him take a step back.
"Move out!"
I bit my lip as the group bolted across the lawn towards the woods. Just before he reached the tree line, Van looked over his shoulder and waved a hand over his head. I waved back until he disappeared with the rest of the team.
"Be safe," I whispered after him.